We can't see the trees....

It's Sunday, 21 November 2010 and we are in a small RV park in Tulare, CA. It's about 50 miles from the Sequoia National Park and our goal of seeing the 'biggest trees on the planet'. Sometimes having a low expectation of an event is a good thing, as the day we arrived here the area was alerted to the possiblity of a "major" storm coming over the next few days. And as luck would have it, the storm arrived a day earlier than anticipated. But ever optimistic...we drove to the park prepared to meet the weather head on~!

Along the way we passed groves upon groves of oranges, olives and lemons. Miles of open groves
where you could just pull over and pick oranges off
the ground...or tree.

sorry for the bad photo



So, we got to the park, were informed that chains were required at mile 14.
Mike: "Can we see the big Sequoias before mile 14?"
Park Ranger: "No sir, that would be at mile 19 and beyond. But please do check in at the visitor center and have a nice day."


We didn't get to mile 12 before we determined that the narrow, winding, becoming icy road was not worth the stress of putting chains on. So we turned around and went back the way we came to be.


Now, you might think we would be sad. However, with the wildlife we got to view yesterday more than made up for the disappointment in seeing "the BIG trees."  We can always return....but we did get to see the following:

 

Bear sign warning at visitor center



Black bear in tree



hawk soaring

Video of the camp resident buck (42sec)

You read those signs (above) about bears, but rarely believe it will happen and then...poof - one appears

and so do hawks and deer if you keep an eye out.... 

4 pt buck in Potwisha campground
video to the left







Three Rivers residence deer, and the buck was out of the lens



We had a great drive through the park, even on the one-way portion (due to a landslide under repair)  and on the way back to our RV we finally were able to stop at a LOCAL fruit stand. We got free samples of persimmons (ah thank you, but I don't need another one), plums, pear-apples and fresh dried mango - oh yeah! We got a yam, honey, onions, pear-apples, strawberries, dried mango and the taste of plums from a grower who just happened to stop by....gave us the history of Visalia, the Native American tribe local to the area and how maddening selling his plums to the stores for $2.99/lb, only to receive .20cents/lb. He is retiring.  Gave us pause to consider the American farmers...and to appreciate what they do.

 

Happiness is fresh fruit -



and a happy Augustine (he told us he loved his job) to help us.

 And lastly, know what this is:

This is a California Buckeye...pod and seed from one of the many trees within S.Nat'l Park. I had Mike stop back in at the Visitors Center just so I could ask. This one was the size of a ping-pong ball.

From Wikipedia:

[Local native American tribes, including the Pomo, Yokut, and Luiseño, used the poisonous nuts to stupefy schools of fish in small       streams to make them easier to catch. The bark, leaves, and fruits contain the neurotoxic glycoside aesculin, which causes hemolysis of red blood cells. Buckeye also makes a good fireboard for bowdrill or hand drill.                                                                           

Native groups occasionally used the nuts as a food supply when the acorn supply was sparse; after boiling and leaching the toxin out of the nut meats for several days, they could be ground into a meal similar to that made from acorns. The nectar of the flowers is also toxic, and it can kill honeybees and other insects. When the shoots are small and leaves are new they are lower in toxins and are grazed by livestock and wildlife.
It is sometimes used as an ornamental plant.]

**************************************************************************************
Your lesson of learning for the day complete...I'll sign off. We are heading to the Palm Desert area for a week and then onto Yuma for a month or so.
 

Adios amigos.....